The meeting was called to order at 9:30. The agenda and the minutes of the February 15 meeting were approved without
amendments

1. Chair's Report- K. Mulcahy

Kevin handed out spreadsheets with summaries of our collection expenditures for this fiscal year and approval plan
expenditures for 2006-07 and 2007-06. Our collection funds are nearly spent for this year. We have approximately $107,000
remaining, taking into account deficits in various funds. The remaining balance in non-state monograph funds, however, is
about $211,000. There were complaints at the last Collection Development Council (CDC) meeting about selectors submitting
these orders so late in the fiscal year. Orders sent to Acquisitions at this point may not come in during 2008-09 and will
either be cancelled or carry over into next year. The Associate University Librarian for Collection Development may change
the rules for non-state funds so that we can encumber more than 90% of the total.

The CDC discussed the potential impact of the projected budget cuts for 2008-09. Regardless of whether we model a three
percent or a seven percent reduction, we also have to take into account the loss of a majority of the state funding for the
New Jersey Knowledge Initiative (NJKI) and inflation rate for serials at about ten percent. With this in mind, a three
percent cut would total approximately $737,000 and a seven percent cut would total approximately $933,000. This would be on
top of successive reductions in the state collections budget for most of the last several years.

These repeated cuts have had a significant impact. At the last CDC meeting, the AUL for Collections pointed out that in
1998, Rutgers University Libraries ranked seventh among the 123 Association of Research Libraries members in terms of total
collections expenditures. By 2006, we had dropped to 43. If the projected cuts for next year take effect, we could drop
into the bottom third. It was noted that most of our "peer institutions" regularly factor in serials inflation when
allocating their collection budgets.

The CDC has discussed various strategies for coping with the budget cut. When possible we will prepay next year's
subscriptions and memberships and also renegotiate with vendors for reduced pricing. We will identify remaining duplicate
journals subscriptions. With a reduction of this magnitude, we will also be forced to cut journals and databases and reduce
the number of simultaneous users for certain databases. Selectors were urged to lobby the governor and their state
legislators to restore NJKI funding and to reduce the total budget reduction for Rutgers.

2. Group Chair Reports- J. Cassel, R. Womack

Jeris Cassel, reference subgroup leader, reported that the Collection Development Council approved and will subscribe to
Gale's e-book reference package.

Ryan Womack, social sciences subgroup leader, reminded social sciences selectors that there will be a subgroup meeting on
May 15. He also urged them to send out any remaining monies they may have in their funds.

3. Rutgers Library Toolbar in Collection Development- M. Lo

LibX is a Firefox and Internet Explorer tool bar extension developed by Annette Bailey and Godmar Back at Virginia Tech.
Mei Ling Lo and Choong Hoong Liew have developed a version of it for the Rutgers University Libraries. Mei Ling is
currently working with the Office of Information technology to have the toolbar installed on the machines in the computer
labs. Among other uses, the toolbar features a drop-down menu that will allow our users to access IRIS and other library
services and information from any webpage. It will also display a Rutgers logo in sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble
for titles we own. Mei Ling demonstrated a number of possible uses for selectors. For example, if the tool bar is
installed, ISBNs in GOBI3 become clickable. Clicking on the link will execute a search in IRIS not only for that particular
edition, but for any edition of that title.

4. RuCore Policy Issues- J. Niessen

Jim Niessen, co-chair of the Committee on Scholarly Communication, reported on RuCore development and current and
prospective activities of the CSC. He provided a handout with general information about our institutional repository's
policies, procedures, and objectives. His main purpose was to give selectors the opportunity to ask questions, particularly
about their role in the development of the repository. Most of the concerns raised had to do with how we can find
information about RUcore and how or even whether we should play a role in promoting its use to teaching faculty. There were
also questions about the monies and personnel that have been devoted to this project over the last several years and also
about whether departments have been asked to support it financially. Jim said the best person to contact for information is
Rhonda Marker. The CSC will probably arrange a workshop in the near future and would also like to create a web page for
selectors. Suggestions for content should be sent to Jim.

5. Line Priorities- R. Womack

The New Brunswick selectors discussed their priorities for filling open lines. They prioritized the positions in question
as follows:

1. Physical Sciences Librarian

This position was ranked first by two thirds of the librarians and second by most others. The specialized skills,
particularly chemical structure searching, required to support research in Chemistry and Physics are essential for the
Libraries. Since no current RUL librarians have this knowledge, it is critical to find someone in this area. With a new $42
million grant going to Chemistry Professor Joachim Koan, lack of support in this area would be embarrassing.

Commenting on the possibility of sharing responsibilities with Newark, NB librarians felt that this would be setting up the
individual in this position for failure. It will be difficult enough to recruit a candidate with the necessary skills who
is interested in our type of librarian position, and asking this librarian to handle two campuses would be burdensome. This
is not an area we can economize on and succeed in recruitment and retention.

2. Area Studies Librarian

This position came second in the rankings, including five first place votes. Librarians felt it essential to have high-
level Spanish language expertise for collection development, and the broad coverage of two continents and many cultures
requiring specialized knowledge necessitate a dedicated librarian. Given the University's stated commitment to diversity,
it would be very undesirable to neglect these areas.

3. Business Information Services Librarian

This position was quite close to Area Studies in the voting, and received four first place votes. The Rutgers Business
School is rapidly expanding in New Brunswick, with a four-year undergraduate program beginning in Fall 2008, and plans for
a new building on Livingston Campus in the near future. Again, given the specialized nature of support for business
information, and the volume of students in New Brunswick, something close to a full-time librarian is needed on the ground
at Kilmer Library. The only difference in this case is that there is existing business expertise across RUL, and it is
possible to envision scenarios that provide the necessary support in NB without a new hire for business (although shifting
of personnel might require other support).

4. Instructional Technology Development Librarian

Although RUL clearly lags in this area (it was noted that our faculty are pointing their students to other Universities for
their guides), the current position was described as lacking clarity and a clear connection to the most urgent goals of the
Libraries and the University. Since the loss of the first three positions was described as "crippling", the fact that this
is a new position that we have managed without places it lower in priority.

5. Environmental Sciences Librarian

This position would strengthen and expand our coverage in areas of science and the coordination of instruction in the
sciences where we are currently stretched. The position was created when the Science Libraries took the opportunity to
re-organize responsibilities in order to fill the open line vacated by the recent retirement of the Pharmaceutical Sciences
Librarian. However, similar to the Instructional Technology position, the fact that we have done without this coverage
until now makes it less of a priority than the urgent need for expertise in those positions where we have recently lost
expertise and risk falling further behind.